The field of the invention is vehicle racks for carrying objects such as ladders, boats, luggage, surfboards and the like on top of cars, trucks, and other vehicles.
A particularly common use for such racks is the carrying of wooden ladders and numerous devices have been used for this purpose. Because of the weight of wooden ladders, particularly extension ladders, occasional back injury results from lifting ladders to the top of a vehicle. While light weight aluminum ladders have found wide acceptance for many uses, they present a safety hazard resulting from their property of electrical conductivity. For this reason, wooden and other heavy ladders will continue to be used. Other objects such as boats and luggage present this same hazard when lifted.
A ladder rack for vehicles is shown in U.S. Pat. No. 3,013,681 where a hinged support structure aids in lifting the ladder. Racks of this type often interfere with the accessibility to side doors of the vehicle. Furthermore, racks of this type are not well suited for vans or other vehicles which do not have space for the required support structure.
While it is relatively easy to lift even a heavy wooden ladder to about shoulder height, it becomes difficult and can cause back injury when one attempts to lift a heavy ladder above this height. Thus, the standard stationary rack widely used on automobiles and other vehicles is not suitable for wooden ladders and other relatively heavy objects.
Racks of the prior art have either not been retractable to facilitate loading, have limited access to side doors, or have not been useable on the top of vans or other vehicles which do not have sufficient space for support structure below the rack.